“World’s Largest Waterslide” To Be Torn Down After 10-Year-Old’s Death

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“World’s Largest Waterslide” To Be Torn Down After 10-Year-Old’s Death

Schlitterbahn Water Park in Kansas City, KS, will no longer be home to the “world’s largest waterslide.” Three months after a 10-year-old boy died on the ride, officials with the park say they will tear down and replace the main attraction — The Verrückt.

The Kansas City Star reports that Schlitterbahn will dismantle the waterslide — which looms 17 stories in the air — once authorities finish an investigation into the boy’s death.

The boy, the son of a Kansas lawmaker, died of a neck injury after riding the fast-moving Verrückt ride on Aug. 7.

As the park’s main attraction, The Verrückt — which translates to “insane” or “crazy” in German — opened in 2014 after facing months of issues during testing. Shortly before the slide was supposed to open, engineers delayed the debut to reconfigure portions of the ride, including the height and angles of some hills.

Riders have to be at least 54 inches tall and the weight of the four-person raft needs to be between 400 and 550 pounds.

Schlitterbahn said in a statement Tuesday that it continues to cooperate with authorities and reiterated that the “safety of our staff and our guests is our top priority.”

“Once the investigation is concluded and we are given permission by the court, Verrückt will be decommissioned — closed permanently and the slide removed from the tower,” the company tells the Star. “In our opinion, it is the only proper course of action following this tragedy. We will, at some point in the future, announce what will be built in its place.”

Schlitterbahn will close Verrückt water slide where 10-year-old boy was killed [The Kansas City Star]